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Really interesting day on St. Mary's Lake, 3/3
Here's the most interesting part:
BAM!! It was a blast fighting it with my ultralight. I actually felt the water rush transferred through the rod before it slammed the lure. It almost yanked the rod out of my hand. Based on the way it fought, I thought it was going to be a really nice pickerel.
At 17", this bass was almost 50% longer than the biggest bass I've ever caught in St. Mary's Lake. I've heard that there were 3-5lb bass in SML, but I could never prove it. I was starting to think either that I was the worst bass fisherman in the county or everyone else was yanking my chain. I felt better when I read on DNR's website that 23% of the bass in SML were between 11 and 15 inches, and only 4% were greater than 15 inches. Here is the 4% (same fish):
I even chose a new hat to wear today to amuse Bob (Capt C-Hawk). Maybe I should wear that hat more often.
I caught 3 (maybe 4) species all on the same lure today, which was my trusty St. Mary's Special (small firetiger Rapala). I caught the big bass in less than 2ft of water. I also caught a 7" sunfish (bluegill?) nearby:
The sunfish seemed to have hit the rear hook, which was funny. There was no way the lure was going to fit in its mouth even if it was a real minnow.
I caught 6 or 7 smaller bass in the 10-12 inch range (not worth photographing compared to the first bass). I caught one of the bass in only 8-10 inches of water and got to see it hit the lure, which was pretty cool. One of the small bass I caught a small pickerel and sunfish in its mouth:
What's really interesting is how small the pickerel and sunfish that were in the bass's mouth. I think they were too big to have been spawned this year (water temp was 53-54* based on my sonar at the end of the day), but those fish would be really small if they were spawned last year. I should've grabbed them to pull out their otoliths, but it seemed mean to swipe the bass's dinner in addition to yanking it out of the water.
Another interesting thing about today was that the tooth patches on all the bass I caught were all bright red. I wonder what that was about?
After I caught the small bass in the super shallow water, I cast the Rapala again, only I put it closer to the branches of a fallen tree. A 16" pickerel came screaming out from under the tree and slammed the lure. That was awesome to see. It was probably the 2nd or 3rd largest pickerel I've caught at SML. I wonder if there's a forage issue if neither the bass nor the pickerel get very big? Most of the pickerel I've caught are much skinnier than the same sized fish in the Severn.
I picked up another bluegill in the same area, and it seemed to have hit the rear hook like last time.
I had another pickerel T-bone the Rapala right between the hook right at the boat, but I just pulled the lure out of its mouth when I set the hook.
The main purpose of my trip was to catch crappie using a drop-shot perch rig. There's lots of standing timber and fallen trees, but I didn't have any luck. I even added some PowerBait Crappie Nibbles to the jigs, but I didn't have any hits. I casted a single grub around, but that didn't help. Part of the problem was that the water was really muddy, and I was using chartreuse grubs, which probably wasn't the best choice. I left all my dark grubs in the car and was too lazy to go get them. I didn't see many marks around the standing timber, which was unusual. I wonder where the crappie were?
The last interesting thing for the day was that the moss was flowering:
I ended up fishing from about 11 to 3. It turned out to be a really good day at the lake despite the water being high and muddy. It was definitely more interesting than sitting around the house doing chores.
BAM!! It was a blast fighting it with my ultralight. I actually felt the water rush transferred through the rod before it slammed the lure. It almost yanked the rod out of my hand. Based on the way it fought, I thought it was going to be a really nice pickerel.
At 17", this bass was almost 50% longer than the biggest bass I've ever caught in St. Mary's Lake. I've heard that there were 3-5lb bass in SML, but I could never prove it. I was starting to think either that I was the worst bass fisherman in the county or everyone else was yanking my chain. I felt better when I read on DNR's website that 23% of the bass in SML were between 11 and 15 inches, and only 4% were greater than 15 inches. Here is the 4% (same fish):
I even chose a new hat to wear today to amuse Bob (Capt C-Hawk). Maybe I should wear that hat more often.I caught 3 (maybe 4) species all on the same lure today, which was my trusty St. Mary's Special (small firetiger Rapala). I caught the big bass in less than 2ft of water. I also caught a 7" sunfish (bluegill?) nearby:
The sunfish seemed to have hit the rear hook, which was funny. There was no way the lure was going to fit in its mouth even if it was a real minnow.
I caught 6 or 7 smaller bass in the 10-12 inch range (not worth photographing compared to the first bass). I caught one of the bass in only 8-10 inches of water and got to see it hit the lure, which was pretty cool. One of the small bass I caught a small pickerel and sunfish in its mouth:
What's really interesting is how small the pickerel and sunfish that were in the bass's mouth. I think they were too big to have been spawned this year (water temp was 53-54* based on my sonar at the end of the day), but those fish would be really small if they were spawned last year. I should've grabbed them to pull out their otoliths, but it seemed mean to swipe the bass's dinner in addition to yanking it out of the water.
Another interesting thing about today was that the tooth patches on all the bass I caught were all bright red. I wonder what that was about?
After I caught the small bass in the super shallow water, I cast the Rapala again, only I put it closer to the branches of a fallen tree. A 16" pickerel came screaming out from under the tree and slammed the lure. That was awesome to see. It was probably the 2nd or 3rd largest pickerel I've caught at SML. I wonder if there's a forage issue if neither the bass nor the pickerel get very big? Most of the pickerel I've caught are much skinnier than the same sized fish in the Severn.
I picked up another bluegill in the same area, and it seemed to have hit the rear hook like last time.
I had another pickerel T-bone the Rapala right between the hook right at the boat, but I just pulled the lure out of its mouth when I set the hook.
The main purpose of my trip was to catch crappie using a drop-shot perch rig. There's lots of standing timber and fallen trees, but I didn't have any luck. I even added some PowerBait Crappie Nibbles to the jigs, but I didn't have any hits. I casted a single grub around, but that didn't help. Part of the problem was that the water was really muddy, and I was using chartreuse grubs, which probably wasn't the best choice. I left all my dark grubs in the car and was too lazy to go get them. I didn't see many marks around the standing timber, which was unusual. I wonder where the crappie were?
The last interesting thing for the day was that the moss was flowering:
I ended up fishing from about 11 to 3. It turned out to be a really good day at the lake despite the water being high and muddy. It was definitely more interesting than sitting around the house doing chores.
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